With the rise in mobile users and advancement in technology, we see more online businesses and careers. One of the fastest-growing careers online is Digital Marketing.
Digital marketing is a field that preserves the soft skills of traditional marketing but includes some skills that will help them work on the internet. Online marketing involves marketing, advertising, promoting, and communication using digital or electronic devices.
If you decide to take up a career in digital marketing, here’s something you might need to know. Digital marketing is a broad field. There are various career titles involved, from being a Digital Marketing Manager to a Media Planner. Although they have different job descriptions and positions, all of them have similar basic skills.
So, whatever job title you want to work for, working as a digital marketing professional requires these skills. Learn about them to help you land a job in online marketing.
Video Marketing
Last year, videos became the most preferred content for viewers and consumers. It’s not only to entertain them during the COVID-19 crisis. But, videos have become a way for people to find the information they need online.
According to Social Media Week, 95% of viewers claim that they retain a message when watching a video. With more and more people preferring videos as their source of entertainment and for gaining knowledge, it is more likely that online marketing professionals should learn about them.
Digital marketing professionals should be knowledgeable about the basics of video making and marketing. Marketing professionals don’t need to know everything about video production. However, learning the basics of video creation is vital. It provides you with another skill that would make it easy to create videos when needed.
You can use the best video editing software to create simple videos and make them look like they were created by a professional.
Besides learning about video making, having knowledge of video optimization and SEO is also needed. Optimizing your videos to rank at the top of the Google search engine can help you gain more traffic on your website.
Videos are best when trying to gain more customers. It’s more appealing as it combines visual imagery, sounds, and some visual effects. It grabs people’s attention more than text and images. That’s why having basic knowledge of video making can help marketing professionals come up with ideas about what video they need to attract their viewers’ attention.
Ability to Analyze Data
Nowadays, businesses can access an endless amount of data online. They utilize the benefits of data mining to track customers’ behavior and if campaigns are working or not. This data is crucial for marketing professionals. It directs them to the business strategies they wish to implement.
Digital marketers use various tools to monitor the progress of a campaign and the behavior of their target audience. With these tools, plenty of data is gathered, and it is the job of the online marketer to interpret this data.
Employers prefer digital marketing professionals who can use the data to understand what will work for the business. Also, marketing professionals should know how to work with structured and unstructured data and turn it into effective business strategies.
SEO and SEM
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a skill that every digital marketing professional should have. It helps you drive traffic to your website or online shop. Learning about SEO as a skill is a vital step.
Organic searches are more effective in increasing your traffic than paid ads. The first thing people do when they want to purchase something is to search for it online. When your product appears on Google’s first page, you have a higher chance of getting leads or customers.
A digital marketing professional who knows SEO should know about optimizing content. It includes using keywords, titles, meta descriptions, H1 and H2 tags, and so on. However, you don’t need to know much about the technical part. Having a basic idea of what it would do so that you can instruct those who have the necessary skills.
Also, SEO managers should have skills in content marketing.
Content Marketing
The most crucial part of all marketing strategies is content. Without proper and attention-grabbing content, there would be no viewers. Hence, no conversions or sales.
Every marketing professional should understand how to create effective and conversion-oriented content. Furthermore, online marketers should learn to implement strategies in SEO, social media, email marketing, and so on.
Digital marketers with skills that create high-quality, SEO-friendly, and engaging content are more likely to land a job.
Design Skills
Every business has a dedicated design team that can put together images or designs for the website. However, as a digital marketer, knowing how to edit images or visuals can help you launch your campaign faster.
Furthermore, instead of sending images back to the design department, you can make quick changes. There are plenty of photo editing tools you can use for beginners.
Tech Savvy
Since digital marketing is all about online presence and technology, online marketing managers are expected to be tech-savvy. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to know everything about technology.
A digital marketer should be equipped with knowledge of marketing tools that can help streamline and automate the workflow. Using marketing tools can help marketers schedule content posts, gather data, build a better campaign, monitor or track customer behavior, and more.
Automation tools enhance productivity for the team, a better experience for customers, and increase sales for a business.
Advertising
A digital marketing manager should possess the skill of creating captivating content that will convert when advertising online. Opting for posting ads online doesn’t guarantee instant sales. You have to create ads with good content and attention-grabbing. Similar to organic search, ads also require careful planning to get more people to buy the product.
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is an option for marketers to establish immediate online visibility. However, marketers should make sure to bid for the right keyword and create an excellent landing page that will convert leads to paying customers. A skill in PPC can help marketers lowers the cost per click on their ads and gain higher profit.
Also, digital marketers should know how to create PPC ads on social media, websites, and other channels.
Storytelling Ability
Storytelling is a valuable skill for creating appealing content. Digital marketers skilled in creating engaging articles, blog posts, captions, and more are ahead of their game.
Content marketing is not enough. You have to be able to connect with your audience with your content. Create stories that your target audience can relate to and understand. Communicate your ideas that can add value to your audience.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is one of the oldest marketing strategies that is still relevant at this time. For every dollar spent, there is an average of $42 in return.
It can convert leads to customers, encourage returning customers, build loyalty, and more. A skilled marketing professional can create excellent content for an email, gather insights and data to help achieve goals, and drive more sales for a business.
Conclusion
If you want to excel in your field as a digital marketing expert, you must have the ability to adapt to new skills and implement changes to solve problems. Digital marketers must be life-long learners to develop and stay relevant in their field. Put time and effort into developing these skills if you are new to digital marketing. However, if you are an expert, be flexible enough to learn new knowledge to help you create effective strategies.
AUTHOR BIO
VANESSA VENUGOPAL
Vanessa Venugopal is a passionate content writer. With four years of experience, she mastered the art of writing in various styles and topics. She is currently writing for Softvire Australia and Softvire New Zealand.
